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By 1843, a group of men had formed a traditional burial society called Hevrah Kedusha to honor those that would depart in the traditional European style. In 1844, the earliest official Orthodox burial took place under the auspices of this society. On January 27, 1848, Hevrah Kedusha was officially incorporated with the state, the first Jewish congregation in Mississippi to do so. While burial rituals were a key component of the group’s purpose, Hevrah Kedushah’s members also held worship services as well. Members, Joseph Deutch and Moses Hasan led the efforts of this group. During the early years of the Civil War, the congregation ceased to meet. Hevrah Kedusha reorganized itself in 1864 with Aaron Beekman as the new president. D. Moses, A. Meyer, S. Dreyfus, and H. Silberburg helped Mayer restart the group, which worshipped in rooms above such stores such as M. Lemle’s, in private houses, and in the local fire house. Members paid $5 for initiation followed by $1 in monthly dues. They also instituted a $1 monthly fee given to a local charity to show support for tzedakah in the Natchez community. The congregation grew to the point of selling High Holiday seats to the highest bidder, a practice that continued when they moved into a permanent building. Weddings in the society’s presence cost $10, while Hebrew school was $1 for members and $2.50 for non-members, showing that some area Jews were not affiliated with the congregation. In addition, failing to appear at a Hevrah Kedusha meeting resulted in a $1 fine. The congregation also acted as a loan society to its members. A trustworthy member in good standing could borrow from the congregation against a note co-signed by two other good members. The borrower paid ten or eleven percent interest while local banks charged more. The society’s minutes show quite a number of these loans.In the initial by-laws of the 1864 Hevrah Kedusha, strict laws existed for comporting oneself during worship. For example, children under five years old were not allowed in the synagogue during prayer while the congregation president had to attend every service This Orthodox group of merchants led services to the best of their abilities and requested help from outside people who could serve as a school teacher, cantor, and schochet (kosher slaughterer). A Mr. Rosenman, for example, was a cantor and teacher during the 1860s and later a schochet. While it was difficult observing traditional Judaism’s strict dietary rules, Natchez Jews did what they could do with the resources available to them.

Growing pains:As new Jewish immigrants arrived in Natchez, many of them began to question the congregation’s Orthodox practices. In 1865, Sam Ullman, elected Presidents in 1867, came to town and opened a new chapter in the life of the congregation.. He disliked the strict Orthodox structure because neither women nor children involved themselves in the Jewish community. Ullman believed that a good Sunday school program was necessary, for “the children grew up like heathens.” He organized a Sunday school staffed by the synagogue’s women. With Natchez’s Jewish community growing and flourishing economically, it was time for a permanent house of worship. In 1867, having outgrown their rented rooms, Hevrah Kedusha bought land for a future synagogue at the corner of Washington and Commerce streets, where the present structure now exists. This new building brought to a head conflicts that had long simmered within the congregation as they argued over where to place the bimah. Traditionally, the bimah was located in the center of the room facing the front. Under the Reform style of worship, the bimah was at the front of the sanctuary facing the audience. Ultimately, in 1872 the congregation, named B’nai Israel, decided to follow the Reform style of worship, adopting the Minhag America prayer book.

A new building:In 1870, B’nai Israel laid the cornerstone for their new building, with Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, the founder of American Reform Judaism officiating. I. Lowenburg brought a Torah from Germany, a gift from the Hechingen congregation. Two years later, they formally dedicated their new synagogue with Rabbi and Dr. David Lilienthal of Cincinnati delivering the dedicatory address. Reverend A. Norden was elected Rabbi. In 1873, the congregation became a charter member of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, making official their embrace of Reform Judaism. The congregation adopted such Reform worship elements as a choir and an organ as well as English language prayers.Despite these innovations, attendance was often low in these early years. The president of the congregation was even known to lecture the congregants about bringing people to services each week. At one point, the Board of Trustees sat as a school board and demanded that parents punish children who apparently insulted their Sunday School teachers. Soon, Rabbi Norden left for Baltimore. He was succeeded by a series of rabbis over the next one hundred years. Despite these challenges, the congregation persevered. A B’nai B’rith Lodge was formed in 1873 called the Ezra Lodge in the early 1870s. Founded in 1901 by many of the same men who led the temple, this local chapter of B’nai B’rith provided fraternal activities for fifty-four members. The Sabbath School expanded with nearly 75 students annually by the turn of the century. In conjunction with the Sabbath School, synagogue children were part of the M. Lowenberg Mite Society which raised funds for the New Orleans Jewish Orphans’ Home and other charities.

Women in temple life:Female members of B’nai Israel played a big part in maintaining the congregation. In 1865, they created the Hebrew Ladies’ Benevolent Association. Renamed the Hebrew Ladies’Aid Association in 1868, the group had strict rules similar to that of the early Hevrah Kedushah society. With its nearly forty members, original members paid $2.50 and new members paid $5. All women, married or single, over the age of sixteen could join, while the president and the vice president had to be married. With elections held every fall, the inaugural leaders of the Hebrew Ladies’ Aid Association included Mrs. John Mayer, Mrs. A. Beekman, Mrs. David Moses, and Mrs. Sam Ullman. This organization ran the congregation’s Sunday school as well raised as money for B’nai Israel through fairs and balls. Their efforts yielded over $3,500 for the new synagogue in 1869. They arranged frequent large affairs to continue to raise funds and connect Natchez Jews to the community. The choir, which consisted of two non-Jewish women, gave several concerts. The group also provided nursing services for ailing members and hosted popular social events. This ladies’ aid society lasted into the 1940s even as other female Jewish organizations were founded in Natchez.In Natchez 1896, a local sisterhood and chapter of the Council of Jewish Women were organized. The sisterhood worked to increase lagging attendance at services. The Sisterhood Attendance Committee furnished flowers for each service as well as gave extra prayer books to welcome strangers in the hope of increasing attendance. Sisterhood members knitted for the Red Cross during World War I, getting a commendation for doing 20 percent of Natchez’s total knitting during the war. Later, they started selling flower bulbs to raise money for the congregation. The sisterhood undertook responsibility for paying for internal improvements for the temple.

Rabbis:Prior to 1899, B’nai Israel had a series of short-lived rabbis until Seymour G. Bottigheimer arrived. A Virginia native and a graduate of Hebrew Union College, Bottigheimer served the congregation for fifteen years. Local lore says that during his tenure, he invited Dr. George Washington Carver to occupy his pulpit despite concerns from some of his congregants. Early in Rabbi Bottigheimer’s tenure, tragedy struck the congregation. On November 21, 1903, the temple burned to the ground as a result of faulty wiring. A few days after the fire, the Natchez Jewish community met at the Standard Club to discuss plans for a new synagogue. Henry Frank led the building committee which was able to raise over $27,000 to pay for a new temple. While the congregation had no home, Christian churches offered B’nai Israel the use of their buildings. Non-Jews also contributed to the building fund. While their new home was being built, B’nai Israel met at the Jefferson Street United Methodist Church. As this crisis showed, the Jews and the non-Jews of Natchez had very close and friendly relations.

A new temple:B’nai Israel’s new temple was dedicated on March 25, 1905, with over six hundred people in attendance. Rabbis from other Mississippi congregations attended the ceremony, including Sol Kory of Vicksburg and Abram Brill of Greenville. The pulpit was built with a buzzer so that the organist could be signaled to play the “Borchu,” the “Sh’ma,” etc. During the dedication ceremony, one speaker put his foot on it and kept it there for the remainder of his discourse. After that, all signs of it were removed and the talented organist, Mr. Ferris Bradly, who was not Jewish, never missed a cue for the 50 years he played for B’nai Israel. When vacationing in Rochester New York, he had to ask a Jewish merchant the date of Rosh Hashanah so that he would be back in time for services. The merchant, who admitted he didn’t go to temple very often, asked Bradly, “What have you to do with Rosh Hashanah.” He was shocked when Bradley proclaimed that he never missed a Sabbath or festival services during his tenure.Created by architect H.A. Overbeck of Dallas, Texas, who later built Greenville’s Hebrew Union Temple in the same style, B’nai Israel’s building was an example of classical architecture with round domes and stained glass windows. Indeed, the building is a testament to the wealth and prominence of Natchez’s Jewish community at the time. The sanctuary had a distinctive Southern touch. The balcony at the rear was not used for a choir. It was there that congregants' African American drivers sat waiting for the service to be finished. The sanctuary had a seating capacity of 450. The centerpiece of the building was a magnificent ark of Italian marble, located right under the new organ, which congregants played at most services. The congregation peaked with 141 members in 1906.

20th century temple life:Over the course of the twentieth century, the congregation gradually shrunk as B’nai Israel has never been able to fill their grand building with congregantsIn 1908, the boll weevil came to town, damaging much of the cotton trade that existed in Natchez. While Jewish people were not cotton farmers, their businesses depended on the cotton economy. While the city did rebuild, many Jews left for new opportunities elsewhere since many of their businesses failed from these tragedies. Between 1905 and 1927, the Jewish population of Natchez went from 450 to 151. B’nai Israel’s membership dropped to fewer than ninety members by 1938. This steep drop in membership caused this once financially stable temple to go into debt, a problem that plagued B’nai Israel for many decades. The problem became so bad that Natchez almost dropped their membership with the Union of American Hebrew Congregations because of the high cost of dues, but the movement made accommodations to keep one of its founding members.By 1940, Jewish membership at B’nai Israel consisted of eighty-nine members. While Natchez Jews made up most of the congregation, others came from Fayette, Bude, and Lorman as well as the Louisiana towns of Ferriday, Waterproof, and Winnsboro. There were even records of members from New Orleans, even though the Crescent City was hours away. While classical Reform Judaism still prevailed with weddings, funerals, and confirmation ceremonies, occasional bar mitzvahs took place as far back as the 1940s. Yet, though the synagogue finances were tight, the congregation never gave up performing acts of charity. In 1947, the United Jewish Appeal organized in Natchez, raising $7,714 for Jews in Europe and Palestine. The Jewish Relief Association of the early 1900s continued through the mid-twentieth century.When Rabbi Bottigheimer left in 1913, he was succeeded by a series of short serving rabbis, who usually left for larger congregations and higher salaries. The average stay of these spiritual leaders was about 3.5 years. Between 1955 and 1976, seven more rabbis came and went from Natchez. Rabbi Liebowitz, a Spanish linguist, moved to Natchez to be close to his daughter who lived in New Orleans. He previously had a pulpit in Havana and Panama. When Rabbi Arthur Liebowitz died in 1976, Temple B’nai Israel lost its last full-time rabbi. Since then, B’nai Israel has relied on lay leaders and student rabbis from Hebrew Union College.

Recent history:By 1979, fewer than thirty families remained in the synagogue. As a result of deaths and young people leaving for greater opportunities, the temple now serves fewer than twenty people. In 1991, Temple B’nai Israel deeded its building to the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience, which is now the Institute of Southern Jewish life, as a way of preserving it. Currently, the temple houses an exhibit about the history of Natchez Jews. When the congregation ceases to function, the Institute will operate the synagogue as a satellite museum. As of 2014, B’nai Israel remains as an active, if small congregation. Once the remaining members decide to disband, the Institute of Southern Jewish life will ensure that the beautiful synagogue will remain a testament to the once prominent role Jews played in Natchez.